Holowbody wiring project....

dukeplaysbass

dukeplaysbass

New member
I just swapped out the stock pups in my 2000-ish Guild Starfire Reissue bass for a pair of Guild bass pups from a 74 M-85-II. Same construction, same look, drop 'em straight in.

But what a nerve-wracking experience! I've never done any work on the guts of a hollowbody. Spent more time trying not to damage the finish than anything else. Took me about two hours to get it installed and neatened up....

If'n any of you guys do this kind of work regularly, I now have a new-found respect for you.....
 
Re: Holowbody wiring project....

Actually, I used a broken bass string to pull the input jack back through the hole. The ball end was big enough to hold the jack, and it was an E string so pretty thick and easily threaded through. And easily sent backwards once the washer and nut were re-installed.

Just getting everything out of the body without nicking the finish (a gorgeous flame maple top 'burst) so I could see what I had to do was a chore....
 
Re: Holowbody wiring project....

Good for you!

I'm dreading the day I'm forced to swap the switch / jack / pots / on my Dot Studio --- good thing it's a cheap-o so I don't have to sweat the finish so hard
 
Re: Holowbody wiring project....

There's old threads on this that go into great detail; check them out. I've re-wired dozens of F hole guitars & it's really not hard. I've put the 4 push-pull Jimmy Page system in a number of them.

I use a stiff plastic-coated wire (came with a yard hose) to pull the neck tone pot thru (the rest I can reach with a 6" forcept with a curved end). I also have a few nut drivers from StewMac that make it easy to loosen & tighten pots without scratching the finish. Only takes a few minutes to get it all back in. Leave a couple inches of extra slack in the wires between pots so you don't pull anything loose when putting it all back in. And put an old towel over the top! It's only hard if you don't have a few basic tools & you get yourself worked up worrying about it. Relax.
 
Re: Holowbody wiring project....

Ya, I gave myself plenty of time and worked slowly. Funny, I had a pair of forceps that came in very handy. Thanks for the tip about the StewMac tools, I'll have a look for those. I have lots of tools and do a lot of my own work on my guitars (and a 65 Chevy Impala, but that's a little less delicate....) so I have a pretty good sense of what I'm doing. But it was a cool experience and it gave me a greater appreciation of how it's all put together.....
 
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